Ansco Vest Pocket N° 2 Model A |
Version française |
Manufactured or assembled in USA from (Circa) 1915 to (Circa) 1928.
Index of rarity in France: Rare (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 7136
See the complete technical specifications
Chronology of cameras Ansco
The Ansco Vest Pocket (VP) is a series of folding cameras, where the flat front part is connected to the camera body by four tensioned arms. Even when the camera is in motion, this front part remains parallel to the film plane. The picture can only be taken when the arms are fully extended and locked. Once folded, the front part protects the bellows. Sometimes, the lens is protected by a cap attached to the front part with a hinge (Model No. 2), giving Ansco Vest Pocket cameras a distinctive silhouette. In this case, the cap is metallic, like the rest of the camera. Occasionally, there is an exposure table on its inner surface.
Another recurring feature of Ansco Vest Pocket cameras is their curved stand. They typically have two viewfinders to enable both vertical and horizontal shooting. The covering can be made of leather or imitation leather.
There are numerous lens combinations available, especially since models sold in France sometimes featured a locally-mounted lens. The shutter is a Wollensak. The early Bionic shutter was gradually replaced by an Actus shutter.
Number 0 is a 4.5 x 6 cm camera with fixed focus. Number 0 bis has the same format but with adjustable focus. Number 1 is a 6 x 9 cm camera using 120 film, and it has fixed focus. Number 2 is a 6 x 9 cm camera using 120 film, and it features a micrometric focusing adjustment. An Omnium Photo catalog from 1923 mentions a Vest Pocket Junior No. 1, but it's actually referring to the Vest Pocket No. 1.
Combinations available in France, based on the catalogs (non-exhaustive):
N° 0 | N° 0 bis | N° 1 | N° 2 | |
Rectiligne | 1919-24 | 1919-21 | 1920-21 | |
Achromatique | 1919-22 | 1919-21 | 1920-21 | |
Ansco Anastigmat 7.5 | 1921 | |||
Modico 7.5 | 1917-19 | |||
Photo-Plait 6.8 | 1920 | 1919 | 1917-19 | |
Berthiot Olor 6.8 | 1919-24 | 1922-23 | 1923 | 1917-23 |
Ansco Anastigmat 6.3 | 1919 | 1920-22 | ||
Photo-Plait 6.3 | 1919-24 | 1919-21 | 1921-28 | |
Roussel Stylor 6.3 | 1919-24 | 1922-23 | 1919-23 | 1920-27 |
Novac 6.3 | 1923 | 1921-23 | 1921-23 | |
Dallmeyer Perfac 6.3 | 1915 | |||
Duplouich Verax 6.3 | 1921 | |||
Krauss Tessar 6.3 | 1921-23 | |||
Hermagis 6.3 | 1924 | |||
Splendor 6.2 | 1922-24 | 1922-27 | ||
Berthiot Olor 6 | 1920-28 | |||
Krauss Tessar 5 | 1921-24 | |||
Boyer Saphir 5 | 1922 | 1922 |
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The Ansco Vest Pocket No. 2 is mechanically well designed.
The strut-locking system is perfectly effective and sturdy. The back automatically opens by sliding a plate on the top of the camera body. One of the spool holders has a lever that pulls it out of the camera body.
The two legs (support for the camera) are elegant and practical: they lock in the final position. The lens cap is installed on a spring-loaded axis and also locks in the closed position (remember to retract the lens to fold the camera). The shutter can be triggered from the front plate or from the lens rim.
The distance adjustment system is original: a large toothed wheel behind the front face moves the lens. A graduated scale above the shutter release allows for distance reading.
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